A writer must “know and have an ever-present consciousness that this world is a world of fools and rogues… tormented with envy, consumed with vanity; selfish, false, cruel, cursed with illusions… He should free himself of all doctrines, theories, etiquettes, politics…” —Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?). “The nobility of the writer's occupation lies in resisting oppression, thus in accepting isolation” —Albert Camus (1913-1960). “What are you gonna do” —Bertha Brown (1895-1987).

Sunday, November 8, 2015

“…For only the second time in over
two decades I will not be running for the IEA Representative Assembly. The
first time was as a first year retiree in 2012 when the IEA leadership would
not let me on the ballot. They had screwed up the paper work when I tried to
transfer my membership from active to retired. By the time the Springfield
office figured it all out it was too late to submit my ballot to run state-wide
as a retired delegate. The next year I ran and was elected. People tell me it
is unusual to win state-wide on your first try.

“I am not running this year.
Until active rank-and-file members are tired enough of leadership that is
unwilling to end their compliant, anything-to-get-a-seat-at-the-table
strategy. My attendance at an RA as a retired delegate seems more and more an
existential act.

“IEA
leaders don’t represent the hundred thousand active members very well. And
they sure don’t represent retired members.The leadership
of the IEA is too willing to ignore our interests as retirees. That is what
they did when they bargained SB2404 and offered to give away our COLA
increases. Some voices who speak for the leadership even wanted to
start a war between IEA Retired and other members of the pension rights
coalition.

“Former IEA President Bob Haisman
never ceases his public attacks on the Illinois Retired Teachers
Association. Either the elected leadership agrees with him or they make no
attempt to restrain him and his wild accusations. In either case, the interests
of retired teachers in protecting our pensions in Illinois are undermined by
this behavior.

“Last year
when we tried to get a commitment from the RA that IEA leadership would not
bargain away what we would soon win from the Illinois Supreme Court, we
were stymied by parliamentary maneuvers. This is an old game the leadership plays in
subverting democracy at the RA.

“I can recall when in order to be
recognized by Ken Swanson at a microphone as an elected delegate from my Park
Ridge local, the entire Region 36 delegation had to stand behind me waving
their hands. This can change. It must be changed. For the first time in
decades, teacher union membership has fallen below 50% of the teachers in this
country. Union survival is threatened by leadership such as this. But
active rank-and-file members must be the force to change it. Retired
simply don’t have the numbers or the power.

“It is difficult for this retiree
to feel I have a home in the IEA anymore other than in my local S.O.R.E.
chapter. I am clearly not alone. Very few retirees
feel compelled to attend the RA. There are only 25 retired members running for
the 21 delegate slots. This is the fewest number of candidates running in my
memory.

“My main
advice to retirees would be to withhold their votes from former IEA Presidents
Bob Haisman and Ken Swanson. Although they will likely get elected based on
name recognition, not voting for them might just send a message to the
leadership.

“Many
retired delegates should recall that it was under Haisman’s watch that we got
the disastrous pension ramp and it was under Swanson’s watch that we got the
disastrous Tier II. And while SB 7, which took away seniority rights, tenure
rights, tied teacher evaluation to student test scores and raised the required
strike authorization vote percentage for Chicago teachers, was passed with
Cinda Klickna as president, it was bargained by Swanson’s people.

“The other
development is that for the first time our votes can be cast electronically.
Usually less than 2,000 members vote for delegates out of 12,000 or so members
state-wide. It will be interesting to see if electronic, rather than mail-in
voting, will increase the number of retired members who see a purpose in
voting. I will also be voting for Bob Kaplan, Mae Smith and Pearl Mack.”

Teacher/Poet/Musician

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Persona

"I want everything to be explained to me or nothing. And reason is impotent when it hears this cry from the heart. The mind aroused by this insistence seeks and finds nothing but contradiction and nonsense" —Albert Camus (1913-1960).